‘CHARACTER’ OF PLAYERS BEHIND COMEBACK WIN
DECLAN BONNER hailed his team’s character yesterday after they came back from four points down to beat Derry in an Ulster championship thriller. The 2021 Championship ignited in Ballybofey yesterday when a plucky and driven Derry came desperately close to causing the first shock of the summer, when they outplayed the home team for long periods before being undone by a spectacular Paddy McBrearty point in the 5th minute of injury time. After a number of highprofile defeats over the last three years to Tyrone, Mayo and Cavan, critics have questioned Donegal’s character and ability to grind out results in tight games. But Bonner insisted that he never doubted the character of his team, and revealed that it was discussed at their team meeting prior to yesterday’s game. ‘We spoke about in the hotel before the game. These boys
‘Derry are a great side and we’re delighted to win’
have shown great character over the league in coming back from deficits. ‘We came back from four points down and saw the game out with a brilliant score from Patrick, a superb score. He was the right man in the right place,’ gushed Bonner. The irony is that McBrearty took on the shot despite struggling throughout the match, but Bonner insisted he was not in the least surprised that he took on the 40-metre effort in the 5th minute of injury time.
‘Listen, the one thing about Patrick whether he is playing well of being well marshalled he will still take that on. And you knew when he turned onto the left that there was only one place that was going to go.
‘Derry are a fantastic side and will be over the next number of years and we are just delighted to get a win,’ added Bonner. That will be of little comfort to Rory Gallagher, whose Derry team never went behind until the first minute of injury time. ‘Bitterly disappointed,’ responded Gallagher when pressed on his emotions. ‘It was a big ask to come here but I thought we were good enough to win. We feel we are capable of being an Ulster heavyweight but we came out the wrong side. ‘I am very proud of everybody involved with us, from the county board down to the players. ‘From my own point of view, I absolutely love being involved with them, it’s a really enjoyable experience. ‘Who wouldn’t want to be putting everything into an environment like today, trying to come out the right side of it?’ he added. After securing promotion from Division three, the sense that his Derry team are an emerging force will harden after this. Gallagher conceded his team was shy of the experience and quality that allowed Donegal to edge yesterday’s game, but he also claimed that the hurt of yesterday’s loss will make the team harder to beat. ‘It is very difficult to just rock up and to be a team. There is an awful lot made of Donegal’s rise in 2011; some of it by you boys in the media that is overestimated because Donegal won a National League in 2007. ‘We are not coming from that strong a place, they were in an All-Ireland under-21 final in 2010 so Donegal in 2011 had a serious group of players. ‘You want to be playing against these teams and that is the best place to learn, and that is no disrespect to the lower divisions. ‘It is against the Donegals, Tyrones, Armaghs and Monaghans you learn from. ‘They do everything right, they stick together, they learn how to lose together, how to win together, they don’t get too up or too down and they improve,’ added Gallagher. With Dublin, Kerry and Mayo yet to be tested, Donegal may have gained an edge on the other contenders for the Sam Maguire after being taken to the wire yesterday. ‘This will stand to them, they’ve always been very good and keeping their feet on the ground and they would’ve been looking forward to the challenge obviously hoping to come out of it easier than they did,’ added Gallagher. Meanwhile, Bonner insisted that Tyrone will be the favourites in Sunday’s semifinal showdown. ‘They’ll probably be saying that we’re going to be favourites. Not us — Tyrone will be favourites. ‘Donegal and Tyrone have had huge battles down through the years and it’s going to be no different next Sunday in Enniskillen. ‘The games are coming thick and fast but it’s where you want to be,’ he said.
‘Tyrone will be the favourites in the semi-final’